Surgeons frequently use instruments comprising a handle connected to an elongated shaft during a variety of surgical procedures. These instruments may be used, for example, to rotate a screw or to translate an instrument such as a rasp to prepare a surgical surface.
Often, a surgeon may need to insert one or more screws into the human body in order to stabilize or heal certain parts of the human body, especially the spinal region. These screws may include low-profile screws, pedicle screws, cervical screws, polyaxial screws, monoaxial screws, locking screws, self-drilling screws, self-locking screws, self-tapping screws, cannulated screws, hex-head screws, or screws with custom heads and/or threads. Each of these screws requires a driving tool to drive the screw into human bone. While each screw may require a unique driving tool, surgeons may prefer a modular handle that may be combined with multiple connectors and may be configured to drive a plurality of different driven elements.
Surgeons may also be required to prepare a surgical location for surgery. For example, in a spinal procedure, disc space may need to prepared so that an injured vertebrate disc may be repaired or removed or an artificial vertebrate disc may be inserted. In order to prepare this disc space, an handle attached to an instrument such as a curette or a rasp may be used in a translational and/or rotational motion to prepare the disc space for further surgical procedures.
However, conventional modular handles comprise either a connection and/or a fiddle that is not suitable for large axial loads in both rotational and translational direction, making them unsuitable for some applications where forceful action and tactile feedback are needed. These modular handles often give incorrect tactile feedback, which is critical to screw insertion and surgical surface preparation.
Therefore, a surgical tool operable to maintain a rigid connection between a shaft and a handle while maintaining modularity is desirable.